Portable marine railway



Nov. 15, 1966 J. w.D1cK1NsoN PORTABLE MARINE RAILWAY Filed Nov. 1s, 196sI 'f INVENTOK A Joy/v w. pick/50N mmm ATTORNEYS MNE l United StatesPatent O 3,285,515 IRTABLE MARINE RAILWAY .lohn W. Dickinson, 3404 4thAve. S., Seattle, Wash. Filed Nov. 1S, 1963, Ser. No. 324,436 13 Claims.(Cl. 23S-121) The present invention relates to marine railw-ays, andmore particularly to a portable marine railway of sectional constructionand involving precast, rein-forced concrete components, adapted to bereadily secured together to form a two track continuous railway.

There is a need for a marine railway that may be removed fro-m the waterduring the non-seasonal period of the year when the boat owner does notdesire to use his boat, or durin-g a period when he is away from Ihiswaterside property. Such a marine railway must also be non-corrosive,durable, capable of being readily assembled and disassembled, shouldinvolve a minimum of cornponents, and have rail joints which are simplebut reliable. A principal object of the present invention is to providea portable marine railway that meets these criteria.

Characteristically, the portable marine railway of the present inventioncomprises a pair of substantially pa.ral lel, sectional rails, eachsectional -rail comprising a plurality of precast concrete railsections, and a plurality of precast conc-rete crossties, extendingbetween and interconnecting the said sectional rails. The rail sectionsinclude relatively broad track portions, which in use may rest directlyon and be supported by the ground, both above and below the water line,much in the same manner as a spread footing supports a buildingstructure. According to the invention, one end of each rail sectionincludes a shelf portion extending both `longitudinal-ly and laterallyfrom such end and Iunderlying the lopposite end portion of the adjoiningrail section. A dowel or tlhe like extends upwardly from t-he shelfportion into a dowel receiving opening in the end portion of theadjoining rail section and serves to couple the rail sections together.Each shelf portion also has an inboard extension on which the endportion of a crosstie is supported and retained by a second d'owelextending 'upwardly from said shelf extension into a dowel receivingopening provided in the end portion of the c'rosstie.

These and other objects, features, advantages and characteristics of themarine railway and components thereof characterizing the presentinvention will be apparent lfrom the following description of typicaland therefore non-limitive embodiments of marine railways, takentogether with the accompanying illustrations wherein like letters andnumerals refer to like parts, and where- FIG. l is a perspective view ofa marine railway typifying the invention, taken from an upper aspect andshowing the onshore end of the railway partially embedded in a concreteramp or the like, inclining shoreward from the waters edge, said marinerailway being fragmented in the middle for simplicity of illustration;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the marine railway, taken at anintermediate location, and looking shoreward, with the foreground railsremoved so as to present end elevational view of the shelf portions andthe end su-rfaces and the dowels of the next pair of rail sections, suchview also presenting a side elevational view of a transverse crosstie,extending between and interconnecting the sectional rails, with the endportions of such crossties partially out away so as to present a clearshowing of the engagement of the -crosstie -dowels by the openings inthe end portions of said crossties, and such view further presenting bybroken or phantom lines a showing of a small 'boat supported on aconventional boat trailer, with the pneumatic tires of such trailerriding on the track portions of the rails;

Patented Nov. 15, 1966 ICC FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational Viewof one of the sectional rails, looking toward the inboard side thereof,with a mid-portion of the center rail being cut away for the purpose ofshowing the reinforcing steel embedded therein;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged yscale fragmentary perspective view of one of thejoints situated between adjoining rail sections and between thecrossties;

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional View, taken through a rail -at a joint,substantially along line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional View, taken through a mid-portion of arail section, substantially alo-ng line 6-6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is an end elevational view looking toward the shelf end of a railsection, such being taken from the aspect indicated generally by vline7-7 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary side elevational view of la modified form ofrail section struction, involving the use of pre-stressed reinforcingsteel, such View being taken from the same aspect as FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a transverse sectional View taken through the -rail section ofFIG. 8, substantially along line 9 9 of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of shelf end; and of a typicalshelf end reinforcing member, such view showing the concrete parts inbroken lines.

Referring now to FIG. l, the marine railway of the present invention isillustrated as comprising a pair of substantially parallel, sectional-rails R, interconnected by transversely extending crossties T. Eachsectional rail R consists of a plurality of successively interconnectedrail sections RS. According to the invention, both the rail sections RSand the crossties T are precast, steel reinforced, conc-rete beams.

As illustrated in FIG. l, the pair of rail sections RS located nearestthe shore may be partially embedded in a conc-rete (Portland cement orasphalt type) ramp CR, =but vpreferably the remaining rail sections RSand the crossties T making up the marine railway are detachablyinterconnected and easily disassembleable. The railway may then be takenup and stored in the non-seasonal period of the year, if so desired, soas to prolong its useful life. The concrete ramp CR is illustratedleading from the Waters edge and extending up and onto the shore whereit communicates with a boat storage structure, or an access road or thelike.

The rail sections RS include relatively wide but -shallow, generallyrectangular shaped track portions 10, providing such rail `sections RSwith relatively broad bases.

In most installations the rail sections RS are ground supported, i.e.the relatively wide, flat bottom surfaces 12 of the rail section trackportions 1l) lay directly on and are `supported by the ground, bothabove and below the surface of the water. Each track portion 10 furtherincludes an upper, wheel supporting surface 14, and a generally straightand flat inboard edge surface 16. Preferably, the wheel supportingsurfaces 14 slope inwardly a slight amount, making them substantiallyself-cleaning. Water movement over and across the wheel supportingsurfaces 14 tends to wash the tmud deposits, small rocks, etc. olf therail supporting surfaces 14 in the inward or declining direction. Thewheel supporting surfaces 14 should be made smooth, as by troweling,toeliminate debris retaining 4pockets and thereby :facilitate the removalof debris. Each rail section RS also includes an outboard side wall 18connected to and extending upwardly Vfrom the `outboard side portion -ofits track portion 10.

A small boat B may be launched by backing the trailer BT down ramp CR,ont-o the `sectional rails R and into the water. If a motor vehicle isused during the backup operation, such vehicle is stopped at or near thewaters edge. If the distance from the ramp CR is substantial, the

trailer BT is uncoupled from the vehicle and then moved by hand onto therailway until the boat B is in the water and removed fr-om the boattrailer BT by flotation. Thereafter the boat trailer BT is rolled up themarine railway and removed from the water. As illustrated in FIG.` 2,the outboard side walls 18 prevent lateral movement of the wheels W andderailment of the trailer BT. As clearly shown by FIGS. 2 and 5-7, forexample, the inboard side surfaces 18 of the side walls 18 preferablylean or slope outwardly away from vertical so as to not make rubbing orbinding, frictional c-ontact with the side walls of wheels W. As perhapsbest shown by FIG. 7, a fillet (i.e. concave junction) is 4formed at theintersection of the inboard side surface 18 with the wheel supportingsurface 14, strengthening the rail section RS at such location.

A preferred joint construction for detachably interconnecting adjoiningrail sections RS and for detachably connecting the crossties T to thesectionalrails R will now be described, with particular reference beingmade to FIG. 4 of the drawings. Preferably, one end portion of each railsection RS, which may be termed the apertured end porti-on, =has an endsurface 19 (see FIG. 3) extending substantially at a right angle to thesurfaces Vof the rail section RS which it intersects. This end 19 ofeach rail section RS may be said to be square cut or squared At leastone dowel receiving opening in the nature of a generally verticallyextending passageway is provided in such apertured end portion.

At the opposite end of the each rail section RS, a shelf S is providedwhich extends outwardly from such rail section RS Iand underlies theapertured end portion of the adjoining rail secti-on RS. As is clearlyillustrated in FIG. 4, the apertured end portion of said adjoining railsection RS rests directly on the substantially flat upper surface 20 ofthe shelf S, and the end -wall 19 of said apertured end portionessentially abuts against an identically shaped end wall 22 on the otherrail section RS extending upwardly from the upper surface 20 of theshelf S, substantially at a right angle thereto. Because of the functionwhich it performs, the upper surface 20 of the shelfs may be termed arail section supporting` surface. As pictured in FIG. 4, for example, afillet is formed at the intersection of end surface 22 and shelf surface20, strengthening such location by eliminating the so-called notcheffect.

The dowel D1 is slightly smaller in diameter than the dowel receivingopening 23, making it easy to assemble and disassemble the rail sectionsRS. Of course, the relattive positioning of dowels D1 and the dowelreceiving openings 23 could just as well be reversed, i.e. the dowel D1could extend downwardly from the end of the rail section RS into a dowelreceiving opening formed in the shelf S.

According to the invention, the shelf portion S and the immediatelyadjacent end portion of the rail section RS, including wall 22, extendlaterally inboard of the rail R. As shown in FIG. 4, the inboardextension of shelf surface 20, the inboard extension of end surface 22and the terminal portion of inboard edge surface 16 together form asubstantially square cornered nook. The squared end portion of acrosstie nests snugly in said nook, with its end Asurface extendingcontiguous (i.e. substantially abutting) the said terminal portion ofthe inboard edge surface 16, and with one side of said crosstie endportion extending contiguous the inboard extension of end surface 22. Asecond dowel D2, embedded at one end into the inboard extension of shelfportion S, extends upwardly from shelf portion S and int-o a dowelreceiving opening in the crosstie end portion and serves to detachablyconnect and crosstie to the sectional rail R. The diameter of the second-dowel D2 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the dowel receivingopening 24, for the purpose of facilitating assembly and disassembly ofthe marine railway.

As will be evident, relative pivotal movement of the adjoining railsections RS about the iirst dowel D1 is prevented by the near abuttingrelationship of the two end surfaces of such adjoining -rail sectionsRS. Similarly, pivotal movement of the crossties about the crosstiedowel D2 is prevented by the near abutting engagement of its end andside surfaces with the upright surfaces of the nook, i.e. the inboardextension of end surface 22 and the terminal portion -of edge surface16.

It -should be noted that the crossties T are supportable entirely by therails R. Thus in the marine railway 0f the present invention the rails Rof themselves constitute the base or foundation for the railway, whilethe crossties T serve to tie together the rails R and make an integralassembly. This is unlike conventional railway design wherein the railsare supported by crossties which constitute the base of the railway.

Preferably, both the rail sections RS and the crossties T are reinforcedinternally by means of reinforcing steel.

The rail sections RS are designed to carry a moving concentrated load,and in this respect are treated much like floor slabs which aresubstantially uniformly supported from below throughout substantiallytheir full extent. According to one aspect of the invention, thereinforcement includes a plurality of suitably placed longitudinal rods,some of which are designated 25 in FIGS. 3 and 6, which rods 25 areunstressed when the rail sections RS are not loaded, and an appropriatenumber of suitably located lateral ties, some of which are designated 26in FIGS. 3 and 6. Of course, the lower set of longitudinal rodsextending through the track portions of the rail sections RS aredesigned to carry the tension stresses to which the rail section issubjected during use of the railway, and due to the weight of the boatand trailer assembly which is concentrated at the wheels W. The outboardside wall 18 is also reinforced, because the rail sections RS areprecast and may be subjected to rough handling, during transportation ofthe same, for example, such as from their point of manufacture, or to orfrom a point of storage. Thus, the longitudinal rods extending throughthe outboard side walls 18 are designed to carry the usual bendingstresses that outboard side walls 18 might be expected to experienceduring the transportation and handling of the same. Crossties T may besimply reinforced like a square column, i.e. with single longitudinallyextending rods spaced diagonally from each corner and laterally spaced,and with lateral ties consisting of pieces of reinforcing wire bent inthe form of a rectangle, surrounding said longitudinal rods.

In the rail section form depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9, the lower set oflongitudinal rods 28 are prestressed or pretensioned, giving such railsection RS greater strength capabilities. As a first step in thefabrication of a prestressed concrete rail section RS, a form isconstructed to include an inside configuration that matches the outsideconfiguration of the rail section RS, as pictured in the drawing. Highstrength reinforcing steel (i.e. with an ultimate tensile strength above200,000 p.s.i., for example), is placed in the form and passed throughholes in anchor plates located at the ends of such form. Such rods ofreinforcing steel, the number of which are predetermined by conventionaldesign techniques, are then put in tension by suitable means, such asmechanical or hydraulic jacks, for example. The concrete is then castand allowed to harden. Next, the steel is secured to the anchor plates,and the jacks are removed. The steel tends to contract to its originallength but is prevented from doing so by the concrete interposed betweenthe anchor plates. Hence the reinforcing steel remains under tension andthe concrete between the anchor plates is put in cornpression. At thesame time, the prestressing of the reinforcing steel puts some tensionin the concrete near the top of the track portion 10. Care is exercisedso that the compression stress in the bottom portion of a rail sectionRS does not exceed the permissible concrete compression stress, and thetension stress put in the upper part of the track portion does notexceed the permissible concrete tension stress. When the rail sectionsRS are subsequently loaded by the wheels of the boat and trailerassembly, bending moments are created in such rail sections RS which bythemselves cause a tension stress in the bottom portion of the railsection RS and a compression stress in the upper part of the trackportion 14. The compression and tension stresses caused Aby the wheelloadings tend to counteract and cancel out the tension and compressionstresses caused by the prestressing of the reinforcing steel. Preferablythe dimensions of a rail section RS and the position and amount ofprestressed steel are so arranged that the maximum tension stressexperienced by the lower portion of the beam due to wheel loading isequal to or slightly greater than the compression stresses put into theconcrete at such a location by the prestressing procedure, while thecompression stresses put into the upper part of track portion 1,0 aresubstantially larger than the tension stresses put therein by theprestressing. Thus, when loaded by the wheel and trailer assembly, theconcrete performs throughout essentially as a monolithic material,carrying its share of stress over the entire cross section, which isprincipally in compression.

FIG. lO illustrates -a typical manner of reinforcing the shelf end of arail section RS. As illustrated, a metal member 30 of suitable thicknessand width to carry the shear stresses involved is embedded into theconcrete at the shelf end of the rail section RS. Such member 36 mayinclude a generally horizontally disposed main portion 42 embedded inthe concrete, a generally horizontally disposed flange portion 34embedded in the shelf S, and a generally vertically extendingintermediate portion 36, interconnecting said main and frange portions32, 34, respectively. Knee braces 38 lmay be provided as pictured, suchknee braces 38 being welded to the respective under and rear surfaces ofportions 32, 36. The dowels D may extend through openings drilled orpunched in shelf portion 34. Also, knee braces 40 may extend between thelower portions of the dowels D and the under surface of flange portion34, in the manner illustrated, such knee braces 40 being welded to boththe dowels D and the shelf portion 34. In the illustrative form of theinvention which does not involve prestressing (FIGS. 1 7) thelongitudinal rods, the major portion 32 of the end reinforcing member 30may lie on or be spaced slightly above the end portions of 'thelongitudinal rods 24. In the illustrative form of the invention whereinthe longitudinal rods extending through the track portion 10 areprestressed (FIGS. 8-10) the vertically extending portions 36 of the endreinforcing member 30 may function as the anchor plate at the shelf endof the rail section RS and the end of the longitudinal rods of steelsecured thereto. At the opposite end of each rail section RS a at,vertically extending, rectangular piece of steel plate may be embeddedinto the concrete to serve as the second anchor plate, with the nearends of the longitudinal rods of reinforcing steel being securedthereto. Portion 36 of ymember 30 is illustrated in FIG. l0 as havingits outer face substantially ush with the end surface 22 extendingupwardly from the shelf portion S. As an alternative arrangement, theportion 36 might also be concealed in the concrete. It also might bedesirable in sorne cases to do away with the end reinforcing member andreinforce the shelf portion S and the -adjoining portion of the railsection with steel rods. Furthermore, in the prestressed form of railsection, it might be desirable to do away with the steel end platesaltogether and rely on the bond between the concrete and reinforcingsteel to put the lower portion of the concrete in compression.

In some installations it might be desirable to reverse the positioningof track portions 10 and side walls 18, placing side walls 18 inboardlyof its track portion 10 and adjacent the inside rather than outside sidewalls of the wheels W. In such installations the shelf extensions forsupporting the crossties T may be formed to extend in the directionoppositely from that pictured or, in the alternative, may be formed toextend as pictured, with an .opening formed at the location of dowel D2(FIG. 4) and au elongated spike or pin inserted therethrough and driveninto the ground for locating the rails R, in lieu of the crossties`However, use of crossties is preferred, tornaintain the between-railspacing more uniform over extensive periods of use.

These and other variations, modifications, adaptations, and featurescharacteristic of the present invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art to which the invention is addressed, within the scopeof the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In a marine railway, a pair of substantially parallel, sectionalrails and a plurality of precast concrete crossties, each sectional railcomprising a plurality of successively interconnected precast concreterail sections, with at least some of the rail sections including shelfmeans at one end thereof, said shelf means extending below andsupporting the adjacent end portion of the next rail section, each suchshelf means also extending below and supporting an end portion of acrosstie, each such shelf means having first and second dowels embeddedtherein, with the rst dowel extending upwardly into an opening in therail section end portion supported by the shelf means, and with thesecond dowel extending upwardly into an opening in the crosstie endportion supported by such shelf means.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein each precast concrete railsection has a substantially L-shaped lateral cross-sectionalconfiguration and includes a generally hori- Zontally disposed trackportion, the upper surface of which is the wheel supporting surface ofsuch section, and a generally vertically disposed outboard side wallconnected to and extending upwardly from said track portion.

3. A marine railway comprising a pair of substantially parallel,sectional rails, each sectional rail including a plurality of precastconcrete rail sections, each rail section having an upper, wheelsupporting surface extending subsubstantially the full extent of itslength, a shelf portion at one end of the rail section having an upper,rail section supporting surface offset below said Wheel supportingsurface, an end surface extending upwardly from said shelf portion uppersurface to the wheel supporting surface, a dowel embedded in andextending upwardly from the shelf, each rail section also including anend portion distal its shelf that has a bottom surface spaced below thewheel supporting surface, an end surface extending between said bottomand wheel supporting surfaces, and a dowel receiving opening thereinspaced inboard of the said end surface, with the shelf portion of atleast some of the rail sections underlying the end portion of theadjacent rail' section, and with the dowel that is embedded in each suchshelf portion extending into the dowel receiving opening, said marinerailway further comprising a plurality of precast concrete crossties,each crosstie having at least one end portion with a dowel receivingopening therein, with a shelf portion of a rail section underlying eachsaid crosstie end portion having the opening therein, said shelf portionincluding a dowel embedded therein and extending upwardly into the dowelreceiving opening of the cross` tie.

4. In a sectional marine railway, axially aligned irst and second railsections of precast concrete, said first rail section comprising anapertured end portion having a substantially Hat bottom surface, asubstantially flat upper wheel supporting surface, a substantially atend surface extending between said bottom and wheel supporting surfaces,substantially at right angles to both, and inboard edge surfaceextending substantially at right angles to both the bottom and endsurfaces, and a dowel receiving opening extending therethrough betweensaid bottom and wheel supporting surfaces, said second rail sectionhaving a shelf portion at one end thereof extending below and supportingthe apertured end portion of the rst rail section, said second railsection also having an upper wheel supporting surface extendingsubstantially the full extent of its length, said shelf portionincluding an upper, rail section supporting surface, and a dowelembedded in said shelf portion and extending into the dowel receivingopening in the apertured end portion of said first rail section, saidsecond rail section also including a substantially flat end surfaceextending between the wheel supporting and rail section supportingsurfaces of said second section, substantially at right angles to both,said end surface of the second section extending contiguous the endsurface of the first section, said inboard edge surface of said iirstsection extending substantially at a right angle to both the end surfaceand the rail section supporting surface of said second rail section, asecond dowel extending upwardly from the shelf portion of the secondrail section, and a crosstie extending transversely of the marinerailway, and supported at one end by the shelf portion of said firstrail section, said crosstie including an end portion disposed on saidshelf portion, said end portion having a dowel receiving openingtherein, with said second dowel extending into and being accommodatedIby said dowel receiving opening in the crosstie, said crosstie alsohaving a substantially flat end surface disposed contiguous a portion ofthe inboard edge surface of said first rail section and a substantiallyfiat side surface disposed contiguous a portion of an end surface ofsaid second rail section.

5. In a marine railway composed of a pair of substantially parallel,sectional rails and a plurality of transversely extending crossties,interconnecting said rails, a first rail section having a square cut endportion including a fiat end surface, a flat bottom surface extendingsubstantially at a right angle to said end surface, and a flat inboardedge surface extending substantially at right angles to both said bottomand end surfaces, a second rail section having a square cut endincluding a iiat end surface extending contiguous the end surface ofsaid iirst rail section, and a shelf portion extending from said secondrail section, below the end surface thereof, outwardly to underlie theend portion of said rst rail section, said shelf portion including anupper surface extending substantially at right angles to said endsurface of said second section, said shelf portion upper surfaceextending in supporting contact with the bottom surface of said firstrail section, with said shelf portion upper surface and the end surfaceof said second section extending inboardly of Ithe marine railway andforming with the edge surface of said first rail section a generallysquare cornered nook, and a crosstie having a square cut end portionnested in said nook, said end portion having a iiat end surface disposedcontiguous a portion of the inboard edge surface of said first railsection, a flat bottom surface extending contiguous said shelf portionupper surface and a iiat edge surface extending substantially at rightangles to both the end and bottom surfaces of said crosstie end portioncontiguous a portion of the end surface of said second rail section,means connecting the end portion of said crosstie to the assembly ofsaid first and second rail section.

6. The combination of claim 5, wherein each rail section further-comprises a generally horizontally disposed track portion, having anupper wheel supporting surface and a generally vertically disposedoutboard side wall connected to and extending upwardly from said trackportion.

7. The combination of claim 6, wherein each wheel supporting surfaceslopes inwardly, making the same substantially self-cleaning.

8. In a beach supported sectional rail for a two rail marine railway, apair of identical, end-to-end joined, Plsast concrete -rail sections,each comprising a supported end and a supporting end, and each having asubstantially flat upper surface of a width suiiicient for supportingthe wheels on only one side of a wheeled vehicle utilizing the railway,a large area beach contacting bottom surface extending substantially thefull length and the full Width of the section, a generally vertical endsurface at each end of the section, and a support shelf at thesupporting end of the section, which shelf depends below the section atsuch end and extends longitudinally beyond the generally vertical endsurface at such end, said shelf having an upper support surface that issubstantially at the same level as the bottom surface at the supportedend of the section, and beach contacting bottom, side and end surfaces,all situated 'below said bottom surface at the supported end of thesection and immediately adjacent the shelf, with the generally verticalsurface at the supported end of the section extending between, andmaking outside corners with, the upper and lower surfaces of the sectionat such end, with the generally Vertical surface at the supporting endextending between the upper surface of the section and the upper surfaceof the shelf, and making an outside corner with said section uppersurface and an inside corner with said shelf upper surface, with thesupported end of one of said sections resting on and being supported bythe shelf at the supporting end of the other section, with the generallyvertical end surface at such supported end substantially abutting thegenerally vertical surface at such supporting end, with the uppersurfaces of the two sections meeting at substantially the same level,and with the shelf constituting a bottom protuberance projecting intothe beach below the assembled rail.

9. The combination of claim 8, wherein the supported end of each railsection includes at least one dowel receiving opening extending from itsbottom surface upwardly towards its upper surface, and a dowel extendsupwardly from the shelf of each section into the dowel receiving openingof the rail section supported by such shelf.

10. The combination of claim 8, wherein the wheel supporting surface ofsaid rail sections slopes inwardly making the same substantiallyself-cleaning.

11. The combination of claim 8, wherein each rail section includes anupstanding retaining wall at one side of its upper Wheel supportingsurface.

12. The combination of claim 10, wherein the side surface of theupstanding retaining wall which faces the wheel supporting surfaceinclines away from the wheel supporting surface at an anglesubstantially greater than ninety degrees, so as to be non-vertical andnot make binding, frictional contact with the side surface of apneumatic tire rolling along the wheel supporting surface.

13. The combination of claim 8, wherein the bottom surface issubstantially flat except for said shelf portion, and the bottomsurfaces of the two rail sections are substantially coplanar when thesections are joined together.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 317,804 5/1885Lambking 23 8-131 380,575 4/1888 Hunter 23S- 131 2,231,089 2/1941 Rorer23 8 10 2,969,919 1/ 1961 Kornberg 23 8-10 FOREIGN PATENTS AD. 3,234 10/1868 Great Britain. 123,225 2/ 1919 Great Britain.

ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner. M. J. HILL, R. A. BERTSCH,Assistant Examiners.

1. IN A MARINE RAILWAY, A PAIR OF SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL, SECTIONALRAILS AND A PLURALITY OF PRECAST CONCRETE CROSSTIES, EACH SECTIONAL RAILCOMPRISING A PLURALITY OF SUCCESSIVELY INTERCONNECTED PRECAST CONCRETERAIL SECTIONS, WITH AT LEAST SOME OF THE RAIL SECTIONS INCLUDING SHELFMEANS AT ONE END THEREOF, SAID SHELF MEANS EXTENDING BELOW ANDSUPPORTING THE ADJACENT END PORTION OF THE NEXT RAIL SECTION, EACH SUCHSHELF MEANS ALSO EXTENDING BELOW AND SUPPORTING AN END PORTION OF ACROSSTIE, EACH SUCH SHELF MEANS HAVING FIRST AND SECOND DOWELS EMBEDDEDTHEREIN, WITH THE FIRST DOWEL EXTENDING UPWARDLY INTO AN OPENING IN THERAIL SECTION END PORTION SUPPORTED BY THE SHELF MEANS, AND WITH THESECOND DOWEL EXTENDING UPWARDLY INTO AN OPENING IN THE CROSSTIE ENDPORTION SUPPORTED BY SUCH SHELF MEANS.